Our campus is located on a pristine and protected harbor — Port Hadlock — on the beautiful Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. We launch boats from our shoreline.The Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding is located along the waterfront of the six-acre Port Hadlock Heritage Campus. The boat school has been acquiring waterfront properties and restoring buildings for a number of years and school facilities currently include 14,500 square feet of covered space.
The historic, two-story, 7,500 square-foot Captain Westrem Building accommodates a lumber-milling room, two boatshops, the administration offices and the library. The School Library houses over 1,200 volumes on a wide variety of maritime subjects and several collections of periodicals. Computer stations provide student access to the Web and personal email accounts. The library is open in the evenings several nights a week. Upstairs, the sail loft is equipped with a variety of power sewing machines and hand-work benches. A master sailmaker teaches workshops and supplemental courses for the school and conducts his sailmaking and canvas business from this busy loft.
Next door, the 3,500 square-foot fully restored McPherson Building features a 60-person classroom and lunchroom, restrooms, a faculty office and a 2,000 square foot boat building shop. Overhead skylights and south-facing windows flood the shop with natural light.
The Heritage Campus blacksmith shop is equipped with several forges and anvils, welding equipment and other metalworking tools. The blacksmith shop can accommodate several students and is often busy in the evenings and on weekends.
The Hammond Building, our newest facility, is located on the School’s upper campus and houses the largest boat projects at the Boat School.
The Heritage Campus Blacksmith Shop is equipped with several forges and anvils, welding equipment and other metalworking tools. The blacksmith shop can accommodate several students and is often busy in the evenings and on weekends.
The School’s sawmill is also located on the upper campus, and is capable of handling logs up to three feet wide and forty feet long.
The Port Hadlock Heritage Campus lies along the water and up a wooded bluff within easy walking distance of the little town of Port Hadlock. There, students can purchase groceries, tools and supplies from local stores. There are also a number of coffee shops, restaurants and bars within walking distance of the campus.
The Port Hadlock Business District includes a medical clinic, dentist office, hardware store, lumber yard, auto repair services, clothing store, QFC grocery store, gas stations, computer store, library, laundromat and veterinary services.
Jefferson County Transit buses depart from the town center with routes to Port Townsend, other Olympic Peninsula towns, Seattle, and a variety of Puget Sound destinations. There is public transportation to and from the Seattle/Tacoma International Airport.
